Amazon Rewards Event – an online scam that promises free gifts for loyal Amazon users

Amazon Rewards Event is a scam used to trick Amazon users[1] by using fake pop-ups, ads and other announcements claiming that they won a prize for their loyalty to the company. This scam might bombard any browser right after related adware-type program infiltrates the system. After it changes needed system settings, Amazon Rewards Event virus starts displaying various notifications asking to fill the survey to win an iPhone or other prize. It can also require you to install some browser extensions or plug-ins, reveal your email address or provide other personal information. However, following these requirements won't bring you the desired price. The result might be opposite – you might install malware, lose your money or suffer from privacy-related issues.
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Name | Amazon Rewards Event |
| Type | Scam |
| Distribution | Adware programs that spread in software bundles, malicious websites |
| Danger level | Medium. Might trick into installing suspicious programs and track browsing-related information. |
| Symptoms | Delivery of pop-ups and ads that promise free Amazon gifts and expensive prizes, redirects to questionable websites, offers to download unknown programs, crashing and freezing browser |
| To uninstall adware related to this scam, install FortectIntego and run a full system scan | |
The main purpose of the Amazon Rewards scam is to convince netizens to fill surveys by giving them a hope of winning a prize for doing nothing:
Amazon Rewards Event
Congratulations Amazon user!
We would like to thank you for your loyalty to Amazon – so we are offering you the chance to receive a reward.
Spin the wheel to claim your special prize
Good Luck!
However, every filled survey brings scammers revenue. In order to motivate users to complete surveys, crooks promise expensive prizes, such as iPhones, Samsung Galaxy phones, or MacBooks.

However, these attractive goodies should not fool you. Amazon Rewards Event Spin the wheel might give you questionnaires that ask to enter your phone number or even paying $5 for unknown services. If you do so, your phone bill might extremely increase.
If you ever get redirected to “Amazon Rewards Event” scam website, you should close it immediately. If this activity continues, you should also check the system for the adware infection using FortectIntego or another anti-malware[2] software.

You can suspect adware infiltration if you also see these unwanted and annoying activities on Chrome, Firefox, Explorer or another browser you use:
- an increased amount of ads, pop-ups and/or banners;
- redirects to promotional websites;
- random text turned into hyperlinks;
- the appearance of unknown browser extensions, plugins or toolbars.
In this case, you should look up for adware on your PC and uninstall it. You can investigate the system and remove “Amazon Rewards Event” virus manually by following the guide given down below. However, you should bear in mind that locating adware-related entries might not be very easy.
Thus, we recommend choosing automatic “Amazon Rewards Event” removal option and dedicate this task to reputable anti-malware/anti-spyware software. Usually, ad-supported applications arrive on the system in software bundle which typically includes more than one PUP. There’s no doubt that you have to eliminate them all.

Careful freeware and shareware installation helps to avoid unwanted ads
This ad-supported application that is responsible for letting the adware to the system most likely got into the system bundled with freeware or shareware. Any program that you download from free download sites might include additional components like this potentially unwanted application.
For this reason, you have to learn how to “unpack” programs and reject installation of PUPs:
- download software from developer’s websites and avoid third-party sources;
- read Terms of Use, EULA, Privacy Policy and other provided documents;
- use Advanced/Custom installation settings instead of Recommended/Standard;
- opt out all pre-selected “optional downloads.”
Eliminate Amazon Rewards Event virus from your browser
Redirects to survey scam website will stop once you remove Amazon Rewards Event from the computer entirely. This task requires checking the system for suspicious programs, browser extensions, and other components. You can delete them manually or automatically.
If you consider manual Amazon Rewards Event removal, you should follow our prepared guide below. However, experts from the usunwirusa.pl,[3] note that home computer users often fail with manual elimination because they tend to rush and overlook adware-related entries.
Indeed, if you leave some extensions or other components installed, redirects to scam website continue once you reboot the system. Thus, we recommend avoiding failure by opting for automatic elimination.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

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